Solar and wind energy enjoy broad popular support as the most preferable energy sources for the future among U.S. homeowners, regardless of age or political affiliation, according to a new survey.
SolarCity, a solar installer, and Clean Edge, a marketing research firm, jointly sponsored the survey for a second year, polling 1400 randomly selected homeowners about renewable energy, energy efficiency, conventional energy, transportation, and a number of related topics.
Half of all those surveyed identified solar energy as the most important energy source for the nation’s future, and it didn’t seem to matter where they lived or how they identified themselves politically. Wind was second with 42% of all homeowners, followed by natural gas (33%), energy efficiency (25%), oil (17%), hydro (17%) and nuclear power (14%).
Power sources with the least public support were geothermal (10%), coal (8%) and biofuel/biomass (7%).
Solar was popular across the board, but age did seem to play a role in support for both natural gas and nuclear power, the survey found, with older respondents looking on them more favorably than younger ones. For example, 43% of those over 70 said they favored natural gas while only 27% of those between 18 and 24 agreed. When asked about nuclear power, 24% of those over 70 were favorable but only 1% of those 18 to 24 said they were.
What motivates people to buy clean energy
A whopping 87% of those polled said renewables are important to the country’s energy future, but it is “saving money” rather than “reducing my environmental impact” that emerges as the most important factor in decisions to buy clean energy products and services. Saving money got 82% of the vote, reducing environmental impact had 34%.
“Sustained double-digit growth rates for more than a decade reflect the long-term nature of this current shift to more efficient, cleaner, and environmentally friendly products and services,” the report says. “But don’t be mistaken; as our research clearly points out, it is cost savings, much more than environmental factors, that are driving this monumental shift.”
The most popular energy upgrades people were planning in the coming year included a couple of relatively low cost—LED light bulbs (27%) and smart thermostats (12%)–while very few people were planning on big-ticket purchases such as photovoltaic panels (6%), electric vehicles (4%) and heat pumps (4%).
Support for electric and hybrid vehicles dropped from last year, but the report points out that oil prices also dipped dramatically. Enthusiasm for solar power and other clean-energy choices “held steady.”
Other findings
Here are some other key findings:
- Saving money is the biggest motivator for people, but 65% of the respondents said they “consider or investigate” the environmental impact of their major buying decisions at least some of the time, and 75% said they were taking some steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Most Democrats (82%) and two-thirds of all Republican respondents (67%) said they support federal incentives for wind and solar energy purchases. The number of Independent voters supporting incentives was 72%.
- When asked whether they agreed with efforts by electric utilities to charge fees for the installation of grid-connected PV, 61% said no (and 43% strongly opposed). Opposition was stronger among Republicans (66%) than Democrats (53%).
- Green building remains popular. The number of buildings winning LEED certification hit 5800 in 2013, a compounded annual growth rate of 56% over 11 years. The number of Energy Star homes built in 2013 reached 77,000, a market share of 13%.
Solar was identified as the most important energy source of the future by half of all respondents in a recent survey, but far fewer say they will actually be buying any panels this year.
View Comments
"Saving money is the biggest motivator for people, but 65% of the respondents said they "consider or investigate" the environmental impact of their major buying decisions at least some of the time, and 75% said they were taking some steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
People are still too skeptical for this.